Tokenized Commodity

A tokenized commodity is a token backed by a physical commodity - most often gold, but also silver, oil, or agricultural goods. Each token is a claim on a specific, custodied quantity of the real material, held in a vault or warehouse and verified by proof of reserves.

Gold is the mature example. Paxos Gold and Tether Gold each issue a token backed by one fine troy ounce of allocated London gold, stored in professional vaults, with regular attestations confirming the metal exists. Holding the token is a way to own gold without arranging your own storage, and to transfer it on-chain in any fraction.

The structure is simpler than most real-world assets because the underlying asset is standardised and the claim is direct: one token, one unit of metal, redeemable or sellable. Where income-producing RWAs are investment contracts, a pure gold token can function more like a digital warehouse receipt - though the legal treatment depends on how it is structured and marketed.

The risks center on custody and backing. You are trusting that the commodity is really held, really allocated to token holders, and really verified by a credible third party - which is why the identity of the custodian and the frequency of attestations are the first things to check. Commodity prices themselves move, so the token's value moves with the market, not with any yield.

A tokenized commodity gives you exposure to the material and on-chain transferability. It does not pay a return - the commodity is the whole investment.

Source: rwa.xyz, as of 2026.